Asia Cup 2021 called off due to rising COVID-19 threat

The Asia Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament stands cancelled due to the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The tournament was scheduled to be played in Sri Lanka in June this year, although the grim situation in the island nation has forced the authorities to take the hard call of calling off the multi-team tournament for this year.

Notably, the tournament was postponed last year due to the same reason and with a jam-packed schedule upcoming for all the teams, it is unlikely that it will be rescheduled soon.

The tournament was originally supposed to be played in September of 2020 as a preparation for the T20 World Cup in Australia. It was further moved forward as the T20 World Cup got postponed to 2021 and then the BCCI decided to host the Indian Premier League (IPL) in September-November 2020 in UAE.

Meanwhile, the formal confirmation of the event’s cancellation for this year is awaited. However, Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive Ashley de Silva admitted that the tournament is “not possible” in the prevailing situations. With the rising Covid infections in South Asia in the recent past, there were already many logistical challenges that Sri Lanka had to take care of had the tournament been conducted as per plans.

De Silva also hinted at the pushing back of the tournament until after the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup, scheduled in India, given the various ICC Future Tours Programme (FTP) commitments for all the teams. Recently, the Indian Premier League’s 14th edition was indefinitely postponed after Covid-19 cases emerged inside the bio-secure environment.

Sri Lanka set to play Bangladesh, India

“Due to the prevailing situation, it will not be possible to play the tournament in June this year,” Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive Ashley de Silva told reporters. Sri Lanka on Wednesday announced a 10-day ban on airline passengers coming into the country. However, Sri Lanka’s national team is currently in Bangladesh to play three One-Day Internationals.

The Sri Lankan team is later set to face India in a limited-overs series comprising three ODIs and as many T20Is, scheduled to get underway from July 13.